Okay, last one for El Dorado. Took us a while to get here, I'll admit. But this chapter comes with a bit of a twist.
Kairi: "No idea where you're going with it, but okay. Hey what about that Skyrim idea?"
It's in motion. Watch for it in the next couple of days!
Kairi: "DarthKingdom doesn't own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, Square Enix, Dreamworks, or anything else."
!
Chapter 118: The Trail We Blaze
Many, many miles outside the city of El Dorado, a river ran smoothly through the jungle. One special section of the river ran by a large rock formation. A few conveniently placed holes and jutting rocks gave it the appearance of a woman crying into the river.
All was calm here, until something broke the surface of the river.
That something was a waterlogged Tzekel-Khan, panting and gasping for air. His mask had been lost somewhere during the 'trip' from the whirlpool. His jaguar had been destroyed from the rushing water pounding it repeatedly against rocks in the caverns that connected that place to this portion of the river.
He crawled through the water, and onto the river bank.
He stopped cold at the sound of many 'clacking' noises, and looked up.
Tzekel-Khan was astonished. Standing before him was an army; a small army, but a formidable one. Every last man was wearing bulky grey armor and helmets. Some held long swords or sabres, while most held rifles. Some of these rifles had bayonets fixed to the end.
Standing at their head, just a few feet away from him, was a dangerous-looking man. He was taller than most of the men behind him, wearing armor that was a shade or two darker than theirs. He had a roughly square-shaped sort of face, with dark brown hair that was cut short. He had a thin goatee, and gleaming dark eyes. In his hand, he held a long, double-barreled gun.(1)
In his mind's eye, Tzekel-Khan was looking at the page in his tome: One depicting the coming of his true gods. He smiled.
He bowed down before him, his nose practically touching the sandy ground. "My Lord."
The big man in front stepped forward, gazing intently at the golden earrings Tzekel-Khan wore. He extended the barrels of his weapon, and forced the high priest's head up to get a better look at them.
"Where did you get these?" Cortes asked with narrowed eyes.
Tzekel-Khan smiled, and rose slowly to his feet. He bowed graciously to him. "I will show you the way, my Lord. I am Tzekel-Khan, your devoted high priest. I am at your disposal, as are the forces I command.
A handful of Heartless materialized around him, and while many of Cortes' men started, the big man eyed them with greedy eyes.
!
The morning had at last dawned. Today, they left.
Sora and the others were in their temple. Most of the tribute that the people of El Dorado had given them had been moved to their waiting boat. Each of them was looking worriedly at Miguel and Tulio, who were both standing at the entrance.
Neither of them were speaking, but merely stood stock still as they looked out across the city, and determinedly away from each other. They may as well have been completely alone.
Sora looked at Kairi, wondering if they were supposed to step in now. But they all knew it wouldn't do any good. Most of them had tried to make the two old friends talk to each other at least a dozen times apiece the previous night, to no avail.
He sighed in resignation. It wasn't looking like the two would be able to work out their differences. Tulio and Chel were leaving El Dorado in minutes. Miguel would stay in the city.
The Keyblade Master got wearily to his feet, and the rest followed suit. They walked to the entrance, and past the two friends who refused to speak with each other.
The ten of them walked down the temple steps into the crowd that awaited below. Chief Tannabok was at the head of the crowd, accompanied by the warriors that had participated in the fateful ball game three days previous.
He embraced them all with open arms and a big grin, as was his nature. The warriors were next, and then the children that they had befriended. Sora recognized Tanni immediately, and lifted her up into the air, making her laugh. He let her tug at his hair a few last times before setting her down on the ground again, where Kairi hugged her.
They gradually made their way over to the beautiful boat that Tannabok's men had constructed. It was fully ready to sail, and treasure was piled high on the deck. Chel was waiting nearby, leaning against a ladder that led up to the deck.
A few minutes later, Tulio came down, and received the same treatment the rest of them had been given. He hugged and shook hands with anybody he could, and put on a smile, despite the fact that he clearly had mixed feelings about leaving. A moment later, Miguel was there, as well, looking much more subdued. Altivo trotted along at his side.
The two of them looked up at the boat. Not breaking his gaze away from it, Miguel said to Tulio, "Well... good luck."
"Yeah. You too." Tulio returned. It may have been Sora's imagination, but he thought his voice cracked for just an instant.
Without so much as a backward glance, Tulio stepped forward, and walked after Chel up to the deck of the boat. It was a bittersweet moment, which nobody was quite sure how to react to.
Sora contemplated some way of breaking the silence, when something else did it for him.
It was a barely noticeable noise, which only he and Altivo seemed to be able to pick up. But it was definitely there, and Sora recognized it for what it was when the sound came again: It was the sound of distant gun fire.
Altivo began to freak out, and Miguel had to run forward to take hold of his reins. "Woah boy, what is it?"
The horse whinnied frantically, and rapidly jerked his head toward the entrance of the city. Everyone followed his gaze, and gasped. Far beyond it, in the jungle, there were thin, rising columns of smoke. The sounds of gun fire were louder now.
Sora heard Miguel hiss one, terrified word, "Cortes..."
"My Lord," Tannabok asked, sensing his distress, "What is it?"
"Chief Tanni!" A man shouted before Miguel could reply. A man rushed forward, coming from the opposite direction of the temples, and down from the general direction of the city's entrance. He was out of breath, and practically collapsed against the chief. It took him a moment to say, "Approaching the city is an army of strangers. With them are the creatures from last night."
While this news seemed to trouble Tannabok, he used a reassuring tone of voice. "We're safe here. They'll never find the entrance to the city."
"But sire, they are being led by Tzekel-Khan!"
The crowd gasped and whispered in panicked voices, as Tannabok snarled. "He survived... Warriors! Prepare yourselves for battle!"
"Chief, wait!" Miguel interrupted. "We cannot fight them!"
"Then how can we stop them?"
"We can't!"
Oblivion appeared in Sora's hand, and all eyes were suddenly on him. "You can't... But we can."
"Are you sure?" Miguel asked, skeptically.
Sora smirked. "You saw my handiwork last night, didn't you?"
"Fair point."
"Chief!"
Now everyone was looking at Tulio. He stood at the end of the boat, looking slightly pained. He looked at them for a moment, and then hurriedly composed himself. He even smiled a little. "I've got a plan..."
!
"I can't believe we're doing this." Donald grumbled a few minutes later.
Tulio's plan was simple, dangerous, and unorthodox, but it would guarantee that Cortes and Tzekel-Khan wouldn't be able to access the city.
They would sail the boat down the river that went to the tunnel's entrance. When they were at a specific point, several of Tannabok's strongest men would ram the supports out from under one of the pillars that lined the entrance, sending it into the river to cut off the city entrance from attack. And to be even safer, the resulting waves would conceivably collapse the pillars on the other end of the tunnel, and close off the entrance from there, as well.
They would ride the wave down the caverns toward the entrance, and sail on out. Sora and the others would hold off Cortes' army while Tulio and Chel made their escape.
"It's for the best Donald, now stop complaining." Riku said. "We all know how insane this is already."
"More insane than jumping off a flying carpet over a hundred feet in the air?" Kairi said, glancing at Sora, and remembering what he had pulled before the battle with Sa'luk and his men.
He just grinned.
The boat was moving at a decent speed down the river, and they were nearly to the point where the pillar would be toppled. It was a surprisingly easy craft to handle, only requiring a rower and someone to man the rudder whenever the sails were down (as they were now).
"Okay, Chief!" Tulio shouted. Tannabok and his men were in position. "Ready... Hit the pillar!"
"NOW!" Tannabok bellowed.
A group of warriors carrying a battering ram rushed forward, and smashed the head into the stone support beams supporting the massive pillar. They gave way easily, and the structure began to fall.
Tulio smiled, and nodded in satisfaction. But his smile soon became a grimace of horror, upon realizing that the supports were collapsing much more quickly than he had anticipated.
If it continued, they would be crushed underneath it. Luckily, more of Tannabok's men had fastened thick ropes to the pillar, and would be able to hold it for just a while. They pulled with all their might, but the pillar was still falling resolutely forward.
"Somebody get the sail!" Chel shouted.
Immediately, Sora, Riku, Goofy, and Tulio ran toward the rigging on the mast. All together, they gave it a hard pull... which yielded absolutely no results.
"It's stuck!" Tulio exclaimed unnecessarily.
"Yuffie!" Sora exclaimed.
"On it!" The ninja vanished, and then reappeared in a cloud of smoke, balanced uneasily on the rigging overhead. She edged slowly over to the stuck section of rope. But before she even had a chance to move it, somebody else beat her to it.
For a moment, nobody knew exactly what it was. There was some form there, briefly blocking the sun's light. But when a few hundred pounds of war horse crashed onto the deck, Sora understood immediately.
Miguel hit the mast, and grabbed the bottom of the sail, pulling it down manually with his own weight. He landed in the large pile of gold on the deck even as the ship started to accelerate forward.
Sora beamed, and Tulio rushed toward his friend, and helped him to his feet. "Are you crazy? Get off the boat, Miguel, or you'll never see the city again!"
"I know." He replied with a slight smirk. "You don't think I'm gonna let you have all the fun, do you?"
Tulio smiled, and chuckled weakly.
"C'mon!" Mickey exclaimed. "We've got a wave to catch!"
Miguel picked up the nearest oar, and shot a salute to Chief Tannabok, who nodded to him –seemingly in approval. The moment that the boat was safely out from under the pillar's shadow, the warriors released their grip on the ropes, and the whole thing fell.
It took a few agonizing seconds for the thing to hit the water. When it did, a massive wave formed, sending them surging forward toward the tunnel entrance to the city (which, to Sora, was suddenly looking very, very narrow).
Holding on to Kairi's hand and the starboard railing as tightly as he could, he gritted his teeth as they approached at high speed.
"Everybody hang on!" Tulio shouted over the roar of the surging water. Most of them either dove to the deck, or grabbed the mast or railing in a death grip. The only exception was Nehrut, who stood in a crouch, and who –Sora suspected- was using his abilities to keep them on course.
They did stay on course, but as they passed through the entryway, the water level rose significantly from the wave, and smashed their sail and most of the mast to slivers against the ceiling.
This also dislodged much of the gold on the ship's deck, which splashed into the water, never to be seen again.
The boat and its crew continued to streak down the flooding tunnel, crashing against the rocky walls and man-made structures along the way. Sora noticed that what must have been half of their tribute had been knocked overboard by their less-than-graceful flight from the city.
The very end of the tunnel was in sight after a few minutes of choppy sailing. The waterfall was visible on the other side of two rocky 'pillars' jutting from the river. Sora knew if they brought them down, the entire cave opening would be filled with a layer of rock and debris so thick that it would take years to clear away.
"We'll have to hit it broad side!" Tulio shouted.
"That's your plan!" Donald quacked in shock. "But the gold!"
"I know!" Tulio half-sobbed. "Just turn the boat!"
Not willing to argue the point, all those with oars paddled frantically on one side, while Tulio adjusted the rudder. Their starboard side was soon facing the pillars as the boat shot toward them. "When it connects, everybody jump!"
They all braced themselves, and the ship collided with the pillars. The Reflega spell that Donald had desperately tried using to protect the boat couldn't take the force, and shattered. They all went flying, and rubble fell from the ceiling around them as the pillars crumbled around the boat.
They hit the water as the waves continued to surge forward, but Sora still kept his hand locked onto Kairi's, and she reached for it with her other hand. Water gushed forward to overtake them, and they were all thrown completely out of the tunnels, back into open air.
They landed in the river, and were then thrown forward further more when it overflowed, sending most of its water out gushing across the ground as the debris from the tunnels collapsed into it.
They all lay there for a moment in the water, catching their breath. Eventually, they were each able to stagger to their feet, sopping wet, but mostly unscathed and uninjured. Sora grinned as he watched Kairi part her hair that was clinging to her face. It had grown since their departure from Destiny Islands, and now went down her shoulder blades, though she still kept it very straight.
"It worked..." Tulio said weakly. He then started to smile, and laughed hysterically. He hopped up and down a little in the ankle-deep water. "It worked! HA HA!"
While Tulio seemed happy enough, Donald looked like he was about to cry at the loss of over a ton of pure gold. Goofy walked up to him, and placed a consoling hand on his shoulder, lowering his head.
"They're coming..." Riku said quietly. His silver bangs were stuck to his forehead, but he didn't seem to notice. Way to Dawn appeared in his hand.
Sora felt what he did a moment later, and summoned Oblivion. Several beings were approaching, and they radiated Darkness. The semi-familiar presence of Tzekel-Khan accompanied them.
"Miguel, Tulio, Chel, Altivo, hide behind the rubble." He ordered. "We'll take care of this."
They followed his advice, and quickly stepped behind a large section of rock from the collapsed cave, where the waterfall had used to flow. In just a moment, they were out of sight.
Just in time. From the far side of the tablet showing the gods of El Dorado, several figures emerged from the mist. Tzekel-Khan was in the lead. Not far behind him was a large man on horseback, who gave off a palpable sense of danger. This was the kind of man one didn't typically want as an enemy.
Sora knew at once that this was Cortes. He grimaced when he realized that Miguel and Tulio had been trapped in his iron grip for several days.
Behind him were several men, accompanied by still more Heartless. Sora wondered just how many of them had once been Cortes' own men.
The procession moved toward them, and stopped abruptly. Tzekel-Khan scowled at the familiar faces, but Cortes merely maintained his cool, dangerous composure.
"I am Hernan Cortes." He said. "I am here on a mission. In the name of the Spanish Crown, I order you to lay down your arms."
Naturally, they disobeyed him. Tzekel-Khan said. "These are the interlopers I warned you about before, my lord."
"I see..." Cortes' eyes narrowed dangerously. He stepped down off of his horse, and pulled a gun from a scabbard sitting on the back of it. It was a double-barreled weapon, and it looked as if it could pack a punch.
Inwardly, Sora grimaced. He had taken a glancing hit from a bullet in the skirmish aboard the Flying Dutchman, and didn't look forward to repeating the experience.
The big man walked toward them, and aimed the weapon directly at Sora's chest. "Form up." He said to his men and Heartless in an almost casual way. His remaining soldiers ran forward, sloshing through the water to surround them as much as possible. They leveled their guns at them, and cocked them. Heartless prowled around them, their eyes fixed on the Keyblades.
Tzekel-Khan stood next to Cortes, holding somebody's machete. Greenish energy crackled around him.
"You have one option that doesn't end in death." Cortes said, his weapon still aimed at Sora. "Surrender or you die. Either way, I'll be moving onward to El Dorado."
"Tough luck there, man." Riku inclined his head toward the rocks behind them. "We just trashed the entrance."
"It doesn't make a difference to me. We'll just climb over these mountains. It'll take longer, but we'll get in there, surely enough. Now I say again: Stand down, or your bodies will never leave this God-forsaken jungle."
"You know, you're not the first one who's said something like that." Sora answered with a smirk. "The rest of them aren't in any position to talk any more. You don't know who you're dealing with."
Cortes didn't seem to care. He shrugged slightly. "I'm better than they were."
"We'll see, won't we?" Sora had to respect the fact that Cortes' mind hadn't been blown at the prospect that a few young people were exceedingly dangerous, and had handled an incredible amount of danger with barely a blink.
Then, the man fired, and the rest of his men copied him.
"Reflega!" Donald shouted, holding Save the Queen high.
A large shield formed all around them, catching the bullets before they could hit a single one of their targets. The projectiles bounced off the barrier, ricocheting all over the battleground. Some rebounded back toward the soldiers that had fired them, stunning them, or sending them reeling to the ground. A few of them struck Heartless.
The guns must not have been entirely effective, because while some of the men immediately began the process of reloading, the rest brandished melee weapons, and ran forward with the Heartless.
Sora rushed at the first of the men, striking upward to knock his pike spinning from his hands. As it soared through the air, he slashed him across the chest, taking him out with one blow.
A Wildcat rushed toward him, and he dodged out of its way just before it sank its claws into him. He drove Oblivion into its side, and tore it free in time to slap a fresh bullet aside almost casually. He slashed an oncoming Neoshadow in half just as easily.
Kairi leapt over him, slicing apart three Rapid Thrusters in mid-flight. She landed in a crouch, and a Wild Dog leapt, intending to chomp down on her exposed neck. She barely even moved her blade, and removed its head from its body. A soldier ran toward her with a large survival knife in hand, not realizing how grossly overmatched he was.
She ran toward him, swiping Destiny's Light at his legs, and sending him sprawling. When he began to look up, a ball of Light hit him full in the face. Kairi jumped over his unmoving form, and toward Tzekel-Khan.
Bariss was already there, and giving the now exiled high priest trouble. The end of her whip cracked around his head and shoulders, and only his desperate leaps were saving him from losing his face.
He tried to get in close to Bariss with quick swings of the machete he held, but he wasn't anywhere near fast enough to hit the girl. She continued to hassle him with rapid whip strikes until no less than three soldiers appeared behind her, muskets pointed at her back.
She twisted around, already bringing her shield to her hand. This proved unnecessary, however. The second before they could fire, Nehrut had shot into the way, slicing off the barrels of their guns with one fluid movement. He sent all of them flying into the remains of the tunnel entrance with one twitch of his fingers, and then speared a descending Dark Beak.
By the time he and Bariss turned around to fight Tzekel-Khan again, Kairi was already pushing him backwards under a relentless assault of Keyblade strikes.
Suddenly, the sound of a horse's whinny pierced the air through the sounds of battle. Nehrut and Bariss looked toward the direction of the noise, and saw Altivo bolt from his cover behind the rocks. There were several Shadows chasing him.
Miguel, Tulio, and Chel were on his back.
Nehrut groaned, and was seconds away from chasing after them to cover them, but Riku and his Guardian beat him to it.
The Keybearer swept his blade in a wide arc, sending a crescent-disk of Dawn shooting at the group of Heartless that were chasing the horse. They were completely decimated, but a pair of soldiers soon replaced them.
Before they could fire, the Guardian shot toward their backs, and grabbed both of their throats in its massive fists. It slammed both of their heads into the ground, and Riku soared over them.
He hovered in front of Altivo, who's slightly foolish riders had accidentally directed him toward a group of soldiers. He raised a shield of Dawn to catch their bullets. The Guardian rushed forward into their ranks, sending them flying. One of them shouted, "Get this demon off of me!" before a giant fist drove his head into a rock.
Donald and Goofy covered Altivo's other end. A Wild Dog pounced at them, only to meet with Goofy's shield. Before it could pull back to strike again, Donald had shot a fireball into its face. One Thundaga spell later transformed a small flock of swooping Dark Beaks into piles of ash.
"Sorry about this!" Tulio shouted over the noise. "The horse wouldn't hold still!"
"Just keep your heads down!" Riku ordered. He shot two beams of Dawn into an approaching Wildcat and cut down the Neoshadow that managed to get close to them.
Axel ran past them, his chakrams a fiery blur around him as he twirled them, striking a Heartless with every movement. He lunged forward, beheading a Wildcat. He rolled forward, and cut down three Neoshadows when he came out of it. He threw one chakram at a far-off soldier that had been aiming at him, sending him flying away with severe burns on his upper body.
He stomped his foot, and sent a column of fire up from the ground beneath a trio of Shadows, incinerating them instantly. A soldier ran toward him with a spear, and drove it toward his face. He caught the weapon with both of his, and drove it into the ground. With his counterattack, he came close to beheading the man.
Yuffie sliced the head off of an Aerial Knocker as it dove toward her. In the same movement, she threw her shuriken behind her. Without even aiming, she caught a Wild Dog in the chest. She teleported over to the dying Heartless, and ripped the weapon free of its chest.
A soldier took careful aim, and fired a bullet at her head. She vanished in black smoke, and reappeared in midair in front of the man. Before she touched the ground, she drove her heel into his face. She landed on his chest, and leapt off of him, directly at a pair of Rapid Thrusters. She cut them in half with one strike of the shuriken, and landed lightly on the ground.
She somersaulted forward, and nearly collided with Tzekel-Khan's back. The high priest was dueling King Mickey, and losing.
The mouse leapt at his head, Kingdom Crown aimed at his throat. The man hastily blocked the block, but staggered backwards under the force of the blow. Yuffie drove her foot into the small of his back, kicking him hard enough to send him down to his knees. He dropped his machete.
Before he could return to his feet, Mickey had his Keyblade held to his nose. "Stand down, Tzekel-Khan." He ordered.
The man glared daggers at the King, and a low growl escaped his lips. For a moment, his eyes turned blue-green. His teeth became sharp, and his nails extended, making his hands like talons.
With a shout, and the ferocity and desperation of a trapped animal, Tzekel-Khan lashed out at the King, catching him under the chin with his hand, and knocking him over. He kicked behind him, knocking Yuffie backwards into the water.
He leapt over Mickey before he could get up, and ran through the battlefield, sometimes on all fours like an animal. He made a beeline toward Kairi, who had her back to him as she fended off some of the airborne Heartless. He leapt, with his hands outstretched to grab her throat and crush the life from her.
No such luck, however. She spun around, and slashed toward him with her blade before he could touch her. The tip of the Keyblade caught him in the side, sending him flying toward the edge of the battle (which was rapidly becoming less crowded).
He landed on all fours, and awaited her approach. He didn't have to wait long, as she sprinted toward him, gathering Light to her blade. She was mere feet away, and one second from bringing her Keyblade down on his head, when explosive pain seared through her left shoulder.
She cried out in agony, and dropped her blade as she fell to her knees. Through her peripheral vision, she saw a soldier approaching her, the barrel of his gun still smoking. No- not just a soldier: Cortes.
She closed her eyes, sinking farther into the ground as he approached, and Tzekel-Khan chuckled. One word –one wonderful name- passed through her mind.
Sora!
The Keyblade Master was several feet away, finishing off one of the few remaining Heartless. He drove Oblivion into the Wildcat's head, and twisted around suddenly, when he heard his name, as though somebody had spoken it directly into his mind.
What he saw at the edge of the battleground, past Altivo, Riku, Nehrut, and all the others that ran past his field of vision, was his beloved on the ground. Her hands clutched at a bleeding hole in her shoulder. Tzekel-Khan stood over her, hunched over slightly.
Cortes stood next to him. He was reloading his musket with an almost casual air, and gazing contemptuously down at the girl. He cocked his weapon, and lowered the barrel for the coup de grace.
Sora's eyes went wide, and his hands shook with rage and fear. Acting on an impulse that was unfamiliar to him, but far, far too strong to be ignored, Sora dropped the Keyblade, and thrust out his right hand. In a voice loud enough to shake the earth itself, he shouted, "NO!"
What happened next was unusual.
As Sora shouted a massive surge of energy shot from his hand. This energy was released in the form of bright, blinding flames of pure silver and gold. These flames roared across the field of battle. They passed harmlessly over Kairi's head, and struck Tzekel-Khan in the chest.
The flames exploded against him, throwing him many, many feet backwards with a cry of pain. Some of the flames splashed from his body, and into Cortes, who stumbled as though he had been physically struck. For the first time, he showed emotion other than contempt: Fear.
Sora, still following the unfamiliar instincts that had made him fire the mysterious flames in the first place, moved his hand just slightly. He shouted, and a concentrated ball comprised of the silver and gold fire burst forth from his fist, shooting straight for Cortes.
It exploded against his chest, instantly shredding his armor into useless scraps of burnt metal. The big man was sent flying high into the air, and fell down to the ground nearly ten seconds later. He didn't move again, and neither did Tzekel-Khan.
With his death, the Heartless abruptly vanished. The battlefield was suddenly still: None of Cortes' men had survived to retreat after their leader's fall.
Sora gazed at his hand for a moment, in awe of what he had just done without even knowing how. It was steaming slightly. What had those gold and silver flames been?
But then he snapped himself out of his contemplations, and rushed toward Kairi, who was still knelt on the ground clutching her wounded shoulder. She was moaning low in pain, and small tears clung to her cheeks. She started whimpering.
"Kairi..." Sora whispered. "Easy..."
He knelt down by her, gently removing her hands from her shoulder. He resisted the urge to gag. The bullet Cortes had fired had pierced her shoulder completely, and run through the other side. He could have stuck two of his fingers through it. Fortunately, it didn't seem to have hit any bone, and the low flow of blood from the wound suggested that all vital veins had remained untouched.
That didn't mean it didn't hurt, of course, as was apparent when Kairi had to restrain a scream when he touched her shoulder.
"Donald, help me." Sora said. Donald walked up next to him, and examined the wound closely.
"She'll be alright." He declared a moment later. He tapped his staff on the ground. "Curaga."
Green light poured into Kairi's wound, and Sora followed the wizard's example with his own Curaga spell. The green tendrils of healing energy that flowed from his hands seemed to be streaked with a very light gold and silver, which made him slightly suspicious.
The matching spells staunched Kairi's bleeding, and closed her wound, leaving only a pale scar behind. The magic cloak that she wore stitched itself back together over the wound where the bullet had pierced it.
She let out a soft hiss of air, and stood to her feet. Sora helped her stand, and she patted his shoulder to let him know that this was unnecessary, though she smiled gratefully at him.
Kairi stretched her arm out to the side experimentally. She grimaced only slightly, but it was clear that maneuverability wouldn't be much of a problem. "Thank you." She said to them with a smile.
There was a collective sigh of relief, and Sora pulled her into a tight embrace. "You scared me."
She gladly returned his hug. A moment later, Miguel asked. "What was that that you did a minute ago? With the fire?"
"I have absolutely no idea."
"Can you do it again, Sora?" Goofy asked.
"I don't know." He admitted. "But, let's save that for later, huh?"
No sooner had Sora finished speaking, than a soft light emitted from the giant slab of rock that depicted the gods. It steadily grew, until it covered most of the space on the front. There was a flash, and the light suddenly formed into the shape of a Keyhole.
Mickey stepped forward, and pointed Kingdom Crown at the thing. Gold light speared from the tip of the blade, and shot forward into it. There was a bright flood of light from the slab, and then the unmistakable sound of the Keyhole closing. When the light faded, it was gone.
Everyone was silent for a moment, before Tulio started laughing. It started as a small, relieved chuckle, but grew slowly. Miguel and Chel soon copied him, and in seconds, the former battleground was filled with relieved, jubilant laughter. Even the horse gave its own approximation of laughter.
"Now, that was an adventure!" Miguel stated with something that sounded like pride.
"Yes, yes it was and..." Tulio's voice dropped a little. After a moment he cried. "And it was so much gold!"
He sobbed for a slightly uncomfortable moment. During this time, Donald also shed a few tears, and Sora noticed that Altivo had a slight glimmer underneath his hooves (and was looking nervous). He vaguely remembered that he had been given golden horse shoes by a few of the natives of El Dorado.
He traded a quick glance with Kairi, who raised her left hand (displaying the golden bracelet from the temple) and put a finger to her lips in a 'don't ask don't tell' gesture.
Miguel was just about to nudge Tulio to snap him out of his fit, when he abruptly composed himself. "I'm fine."
"Good." Chel kissed him on the cheek. "Now let's go."
He watched her get onto Altivo's back with a fond smile, and then turned around to look at Miguel.
The blonde man smiled, and extended his hand. "Partner?"
Tulio grinned, and shook his hand. "Partner."
"Now that's more like it." Sora said with an approving nod.
"Hey, guys! C'mon!" Chel called. "You don't want to stay here forever, do you?"
"But, we don't have a map..."
"We don't have a plan."
"That's just what makes it interesting, guys." Sora said with his usual grin.
They looked at him for a moment, before grinning. "You're right! What're we waiting for?"
"Follow that trail!" Riku shouted to them, as they leapt onto Altivo's back behind Chel. She pulled back on the reins, making Altivo rear back on his hind legs and knock them out of the seat. She then took off, laughing.
Miguel and Tulio smiled, then ran after her. Over his shoulder, Miguel shouted. "If you're ever in Spain, look us up! Odds are we'll be the ones running for our lives."
They waved after their departing backs, laughing at the things they were shouting to Chel. Sora looked over at Riku, and got a grin.
"You got that line from a song."
"So?"
"Sing it."
"No!"
"Sing it."
"No way."
"Riku." Yuffie fixed him with a smirk. "Sing it."
He sighed, and rolled his eyes.
"Look out new world, here we come.
Brave, intrepid, and then some!"
Sora grinned, and sang with him.
"Pioneers of maximum,
Audacity whose resumes,
Show that we are just the team,
To live where others merely dream,
Building up a head of steam..."
The rest of them who knew the song finished it with them.
"On the trail we blaze!"
!
Don't know why I added that. I blame Elton John. But anyway, we're one world down, and the plot thickens a little bit more. I hope you enjoyed the ride!
1) Artistic liberties aside, and speaking as a history major, I think Dreamworks did a pretty accurate job with Cortes here. Just a thought.
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